American defense officials Tuesday pushed back against the notion that China has used cyberespionage to obtain extensive design information on advanced American weapons .

`` Suggestions that cyberintrusions have somehow led to the erosion of our capabilities or technological edge are incorrect , '' said Pentagon press secretary George Little . `` We maintain full confidence in our weapons platforms . ''

The Pentagon was responding to a list of weapons systems whose secrets had been compromised by Chinese cyberespionage , which the Washington Post says was in a confidential report by the Defense Science Board .

While the extent of the secrets stolen was not clear , the list of compromised weapons in the Post included some of the Defense Department 's crown jewels of high-tech fighting : jets like the F-35 and the FA-18 , anti-missile defenses like the Patriot and Aegis systems , the new Littoral Combat Ship and the Global Hawk unmanned surveillance plane .

Contacted by CNN , several members of the Defense Science Board declined to comment .

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But James Lewis , a cyberexpert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies , said that China could use such cyberespionage in several ways that could put American fighters at risk : to copy weapons technology , counter American weapons based on that knowledge or even disrupt their operation by interfering with the software that runs them .

`` If you mess with that software , '' he said , `` the airplane wo n't fly . The missile will miss its target and the ship might not get where it was intended to go . ''

Rep. Mike Rogers , R-Michigan and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee , described cyberespionage as `` tremendously serious . ''

`` The viciousness , and just the volume of attacks , not only by the Chinese but Russians and others trying to get the blueprints of our most sensitive material is just breathtaking -- and they 're getting better , '' he told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer .

He laid out why such attacks might matter .

`` We , in some cases , have to go back for any material that may have been stolen ... and redesign it . It costs more money , '' he said .

`` It costs billions and billions of dollars extra to try to make sure that we 're staying ahead of our adversaries with technology . When they steal it , they leap ahead . That means we have to invest more , and change that technology . It is a serious problem . ''

In a publicly released portion of the Defense Science Board 's report , the authors warn that cyberwarfare `` may impose severe consequences for U.S. forces engaged in combat , '' including American weapons failing to operate , communications problems , or even planes or satellites potentially crashing .

One American official , while acknowledging cyberintrusions from China , said the claims of design details being compromised were overstated .

`` The idea that somehow whoever the intruders were got the keys to the weapons kingdom is a stretch , '' the official said . `` Getting one piece without the rest of the parts makes it hard to build a weapons platform . ''

Defense officials also said they have taken steps to address the concerns , and that some of the information about potential breaches was dated .

Kevin Mandia of Mandiant , a cybersecurity firm that has also been tracking Chinese military hackers , said that while many key Pentagon installations are well-fortified against hackers , cyberdefenses need to be deployed more widely .

`` There 's a lot of engineering that gets done in an academic setting , '' he said . `` There 's a lot of engineering that gets done at the defense industrial base . And a lot of these places have been compromised for over 10 years . ''

The allegation of cyberpenetration comes at a time when China has been stepping up its efforts to close the gap with the United States in terms of advanced military technology . In recent years , China has tested a missile that knocked out a satellite , conducted test flights of a stealth warplane , deployed its first aircraft carrier and developed an advanced `` carrier-killer '' missile for warfare against ships .

China 's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to inquiries from CNN about the allegation of stealing secrets . But in the past , Chinese officials have said China does not conduct cyberespionage on U.S. agencies or companies .

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`` We maintain full confidence in our weapons platforms , '' says Pentagon spokesman

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He was responding to a report in the Washington Post

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The newspaper published a list of compromised weapons

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Rep. Rogers : `` When they steal it , they leap ahead ''